Lareina could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the staccato beating of a drum that seemed to match in time with the shouting that surrounded her. Her nose was filled with the pungent scent of blood and vomit, accompanied by a sharp, stinging smell that was more pain than an actual scent. It was a smell Ray had already come to associate with terror.

She was standing at the edge of a dug out pit of an arena, surrounded by a group of nine other humans. At any other time, that sentence would have felt strange in her mind, distinguishing the people around her as humans, but, unfortunately, it had very recently become a necessary distinction. After all, surrounding the group of ten were hideous, monstrous abominations. They looked like someone had taken a centipede, scaled it up by about a thousand, covered it in metal plating, and then pumped it full of acid. Five of the monsters surrounded the little group of humans, and even with the sheer, utter alienness of them, Ray could tell that they were currently mocking the weaklings they had surrounded.

The entire situation still felt dreamlike. Only yesterday, she’d had a normal day, covered up to her elbows in grease, the pungent smell of metal and oil staining her clothes and hair. However, all of that had changed in an instant, when she’d suddenly felt herself being tugged, as though some cosmic force had decided that she no longer had the right to exist in that dimension. When her head had finally stopped spinning and she’d been able to orient herself once more, she’d found herself standing in the middle of a wild forest, knowledge of a strange new ability burning inside her mind.

At that point, despite the abnormalities of the situation, Lareina had still been able to keep herself calm. But that changed suddenly and rather abruptly when she’d found herself ambushed by these insectoid monsters, rounded up and herded into a wooden village filled with the creatures, like her and the rest of the humans were nothing but cattle.

Ray had experienced the misfortune of having nightmares she couldn’t distinguish from reality before, but in the end, despite the faint trembling of her hands and the shortness of every breath she took, she could only conclude that she had no choice but to treat this as reality, no matter how terrible it got. If it proved to be nothing but a bad dream, it would fade away soon. If it was reality, then she had to be fully committed to struggling for her life at any moment.

And ‘struggle’ seemed to be the name of the game. The humans had been split into several groups by the centipede monsters, before being shuffled off to a series of arenas. Two humans had been tossed into the first ring, and the monsters watched them expectantly. When the two fearfully grouped together, they’d been immediately separated by several globs of acid that had been spat out by the abomination. When one of the men had accidentally stepped in the puddle, his shoe and half his foot had dissolved before he even had a chance to start screaming.

Lareina and the rest had watched in horror as the abominations waded through three pairs of people, all of their ends too horrific to describe. It wasn’t until one of yet another pair, a middle aged woman, lashed out and hit a man on the face that the centipedes had backed off and the humans finally figured out the objective. Fight and kill each other, or we’ll kill you instead.

Ray had watched three ‘battles’ after that point, bloody messes that seemed to have ended in misery for both participants. One had ended when a crying teenage boy cleaved open the head of a middle aged man, using a sword that had appeared from nowhere into his hands. Another saw a slightly hyperventilating man crushing a fallen woman’s chest with a pebble that seemed to weigh a billion pounds.

And then Ray suddenly realized it was her turn, because one of the monsters had appeared between her and the rest of the group, and she stumbled away from it unconsciously, falling off the short ledge that separated the pit arena from the rest of the forest. Lareina lifted herself to her feet quickly, eyes darting about wildly.

Shiori had lived a life of luxury. Her future was in her hands and she had the means to grasp it, to meld it. Though it never came without conflict, she'd been able to pursue the things she loved, surrounded by people she cared about and matters she was passionate about. Hardship came in through microaggressions from a narrow-minded peer or difficult conversations with her parents, but never, ever had she ever had to fear for her life. That had been a blessing she'd been faintly aware of, but she'd never really thought so much about it until that very moment, standing in horror around lovecraftian beings and copious amounts of guts and gore.

The stench was horrific. She'd dabbled in biology and the like, making dissections and the like nothing too terrible for her, but this... This was on a different level. Burning skin. Drying blood. Everything that made a horror movie was unraveling before her, huddled up with the small group of humans in this nightmare, watching the fights unfold.

She'd woken up in a forest. Whether it was a dream or not, she could not tell, but unfortunately it had not ended yet. Exploring hadn't done her much good, since she'd been swept up by the giant... armoured bug... things. She'd been happy to see more humans, but seeing how they were pretty much in line to die, she was no longer feeling that same relief. Her stomach was churning, barely able to keep whatever food she had left in her, simply due to the smell. The sights were even worse. Her eyes darted from the makeshift arena to the forest, over and over again.

She was tiny. Logically, those bug things would easily catch up to her if she ran, even if she got a few seconds as a head start. But what could she do? Fight them? They would make her step into that arena eventually, and she wasn't quite sure if she had it in her to attack any of the people in her group. Or anyone, for that matter! The fact that some of the humans near her were bawling would've been enough to make her stop in her tracks.

And then she saw her.

Shiori had been singled out, alongside another girl, one that was much taller, with wild hair and the same distress in her eyes. She clenched her hands into fists, feeling herself shake at the sight of the gargantuan being before her, as it attempted to corral her into the ring.

The other girl fell. Shiori stared at her, mouth agape, until... their eyes met. But she couldn't stare for too long, being prompted silently by the bug to enter the arena.

"Are... Are you okay?" she called out hoarsely, trying desperately to ignore the huge bugs, assuming they couldn't speak english. Oh god, she could only hope the other girl spoke english. If she didn't, they were screwed, since Shiori was assuming the other probably wouldn't speak mandarin or japanese either.

For several seconds, as though something as simple as ‘not looking’ could somehow deny the reality of the situation, Ray’s eyes refused to fully lock onto the person before her, leaving the individual as nothing but a blurry silhouette. But that couldn’t go on infinitely. Eventually, Lareina had no choice but to look.

God above, she was so small. Everything about her looked so delicate, the kind of girl Ray would normally have dropped everything she was doing for, to help her solve her problems. And now…

Now the hissing and spitting of the abominations that surrounded them meant that Ray was going to have to kill this beautiful creature, whose eyes seemed to be misting over with tears. Kill her, or let herself be killed. Or resign herself to perishing together under the relentless assault of the watching monsters. There wasn’t really a choice. And Lareina was certain that girl’s face was going to haunt her for the rest of her, likely pitiably short, life.

“I…” Ray stuttered. “I-I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”

Her hand closed into a fist, and Ray felt the metal moving through her veins. She didn’t know whether it had been a mercy or a coincidence, but the 10 mm wrench she’d been using to tighten a bolt had come with her when the irresistible tugging had seized her. And now the metal flowed through her body, cold and heavy. It emerged from her skin around her wrist, forming into a long, thin, terribly sharp needle from her knuckles. She left a little bit in reserve, maybe just enough to shield her heart from a fatal blow, if she was fast and lucky enough.

Dark skin. A quivering but full voice. Dark and light tresses of hair, angered by constant movement and little care in these woods. The fear in her face. Shiori's eyes blurred.

Focus. Focus. Her eyes refused. Her pale skin breathed life into her cheeks, flush with red, accompanying the tears that she could not stop. They had no choice. The centipedes watched, unblinking, uncaring... She could not plead with them. The hissing was louder than anything she'd ever heard in her life, only second to the sound of her chest heaving, to the sound of her heart pounding away in her chest. Her cries would fall on deaf ears. She would die. Even if she did know how to fight, she knew that within her, she could not. She could not plead with the monsters, but...

She could plead with her.

"D-Don't apologize," she managed to get out, the words forced out of her chest like they hurt, as she backed away slowly, strands of hair beginning to stick to her cheeks, wet with tears, "Please, don't do anything you need to apologize for." Her own voice sounded foreign to her. Shaky. Frightened. Thin. Breathing in wasn't bringing her enough air. She couldn't see. The panic filled her every limb, as the blurry figure grew... A long, metallic needle, from her arm. A weapon.

Her death loomed before her. The hissing grew louder.

She couldn't breathe. She was choking. Not this, not again. Something hard was stuck in her throat, and she was retching, she was stumbling backwards, she was--

She lurched forwards, unable to hold back the rush leaving her mouth, coughing loudly. Her hands caught some of the refuse in her panic, and when she clenched them, the pain seared through her. Opening her eyes wide, she barely got out another sound, staring at the shards of glass, scattered across the ground and now embedded in her hands. "Oh, oh, oh- FUCK!" Shiori exclaimed aloud, only now remembering that someone else was trying to kill her, staring up at her in terror.

She... She needed a weapon. She needed to spit something out that would help her. She needed more than fucking shattered glass.

The girl’s panic stabbed Lareina in the heart almost as effectively as the glass that had just spewed from her mouth cut the girl’s hands. How she wished they didn’t have to fight! How she wished this whole thing was just a nightmare.

The world’s not as sparkly as it looks from a distance, little queen. Her father’s voice seemed to echo in her head, offering his strange consolation for those times when things went wrong, when people were needlessly cruel. Yes, the world was far from beautiful, and any world covered in giant insectoid monsters that could spit acid was even less beautiful. And no beautiful person could survive in this world.

Ray tried to steel her resolve, even as she felt like she was about to puke. She took one shaky step forward towards the retreating woman. She knew, had seen plenty of examples of it before; that if she didn’t walk forward now, didn’t look as though she intended to fight, then the monsters would get involved in the fight. And that would spell certain death for both of them.

“I want to live!” Lareina spat out, walking forward faster. For one, wild moment, a part of her hoped that the woman opposite her wouldn’t fight back. That she could actually end it cleanly and quickly.

She did too. It was either they fought or they died without having a chance. Humans were more on equal standing in the arena than the acid spat out by those things. Her stomach clenched, mouth feeling dry and sore after vomiting up so much glass. Her hands ached, wet with drawn blood, stinging from the glass she did not have time to pick out of her skin. The japanese girl heaved, staring dizzily at the woman approaching, faster and faster.

"I, I don't want to die!" she screamed back, stumbling back even further, leaving her pile of glass behind, save for what she was holding. Her mind was twisting, turning, trying to search for some possibility. Bargaining with the other girl would not save them both from the centipedes. Bargaining with the centipedes was impossible. And what did she even have to bargain with? Nothing except her life. Even so, that... Didn't seem to be worth much.

She shut her eyes tight, willing something else to come out of her, even if it hurt her throat. Something sharp. Something that could hurt. Something that could kill.

The other girl had made her choice.

Shiori would have to too. She forced it out, coughing and shaking, trying to push the object out of her mouth as quickly as possible. A metal pipe, about half the size of her body. The weight was a bit more than she'd expected, and she wasn't exactly well versed in fighting with anything other than with just her body, but... She needed to steel herself.

She held up the pipe, wiping at her tears quickly, meeting eyes with the approaching girl, obviously trying to put on a brave face.

Even though Lareina was moving forward quickly, everything around her seemed to have slowed down. The shriek of the centipedes and the shouts and crying of the humans was muffled by the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. In that strange, slow motion world, Ray could watch the slowly building resolution in the girl in front of her. To fight. To live, against all odds. It was the same thing that drove Ray forward, which had doubtless driven all the people who had been flung into this arena before them. Ray’s heartbeat felt like it was setting her body on fire, as all the forgotten instincts buried by a peaceful life ignited within her.

In front of her, Lareina could see the girl retching, and for a moment she wondered if the other was going to puke. However, just as quickly, the memory of her spitting glass appeared in Ray’s mind. She tensed, feeling the metal inside her, prepared to call it to her skin if the girl spat out more glass at her. She didn’t care about superficial cuts, her body was littered in tiny scars from the various scrapes and cuts she’d gotten from working on cars. But she couldn’t let herself be critically injured. She had no doubt that the fights wouldn’t come to an end at just this.

However, rather than glass, Ray almost instinctively realized what was coming from her mouth instead. It was metal. She could feel it, tingling across her skin, a strange gut feeling inside of her telling her that all she needed to do was call to it, and it would come to her. For half a second she almost yielded to the instinct. And then a crazy thought occurred to her.

She stumbled almost unconsciously, the hope that flared inside of her causing her movement to falter. Without her attention to maintain it, the spike on her hand faded, sinking back into her skin. That hadn’t been there a second ago. Lareina would have sworn to that. If it was, she would have felt it, like she could feel the metal swimming in her own blood.

Which means the other girl had made it.

Her eyes darted around. What were the chances those centipedes could understand English? God, she hoped it was low. “How… how much more of that can you make?” Ray asked. “Fuck, I know I was just trying to fucking kill you, but if you can make more, like a lot more, I might be able to…”

She had to live. For what, she was not quite sure. If this would become her life, she was quite certain there was little in this pocket of trees that would bring her any type of joy, really. The thoughts raced in her mind. Her brother. Her quaint little condo. Her university and its pleasant little parks, where she'd lay and nap in the sun. Cute little teacups that she collected. Her favorite gel pens. Everything was calling out to her, begging her to return to a life that she could only hope was still waiting for her, outside of this nightmare.

The pipe was incredibly cold against the rising heat of her body, and she did her best to keep a steady grip on it, despite the incredibly sharp sting in her hands and the wetness of the blood. She was pushing some of the glass deeper with every second of increased pressure but she couldn't stop now. The fight had yet to begin. She had to be strong.

She had to live. For what, she'd find out.

But the girl stopped. Shiori watched her carefully, trying to calm her breath, not trusting the other's sudden stop, even if it was beneficial to her. If she could just pause a little more, perhaps she could get her chest to stop aching and ignore the pains in her hands. And then she spoke.

Shiori hadn't noticed there had been a ringing in her ears, but now that the other was speaking less forcefully, it stuck out like a sore thumb. She kept the metal pipe up cautiously, but stared at her, confused at the question. "Um... I dunno." she replied after a stagnant second, looking down at the end of the pipe, trying to gauge inwardly if she could estimate her limits, "Maybe, um... A couple more pipes like this? Maybe some liquefied ones, since my throat isn't coping well after all that glass."

It was weird, to now be discussing this with her. "... If... If we're going to talk, we should at least pretend to fight. I'm hoping they don't know what we're saying, but we won't survive if they get impatient." She stepped forwards, securing her grip on the pipe. "If I swing really horribly, and say where I'm swinging, do you think you can dodge it while making it look like you're having a hard time?"

“F-fuck,” Lareina stuttered, panic nearly closing her throat. The metal on her fist instantly reformed, but it was possible to see at a close distance that the spike was wider and far blunter than it had been before. It would still hurt to get stabbed with it, like someone driving a screw driver into your body, but it was no longer as deadly as it had been before. She glanced around covertly at the centipedes, who she imagined seemed to be shifting impatiently. “You’re right.”

“I… I’m going to take your pipe when you swing it at me, alright?” Ray replied, skittering backwards slightly as she took something that resembled a fighting stance. “It’s okay to swing as hard as you can. It won’t reach me. I… need the metal, okay? If I can get enough of it, I may be able to bust us out of here.”

A part of Ray was certain the other girl would refuse. How much trust would it take, in this deadly situation, to strengthen your opponent to that point? Lareina had never imagined there would come a day where she'd ask someone to stake their life on human kindness, and worse, the kindness of a complete stranger.

Shiori had never remembered being able to will things out of her body. Metal and glass especially. When she'd arrived here, something within her had changed, something innate, as if she'd always known how to do it. She wasn't quite sure why, but doing experiments and research on herself wasn't exactly something she had time for. She'd assume that all humans had abilities here somehow, seeing as the other girl had that spike coming out of her, plus the other fights she'd seen. It was ridiculous, but not accepting the reality she'd experienced would simply hinder her further.

"Take it?" she echoed, still slowly moving forward in an attempt to look like she would strike, though her expression faltered, "What do you mean take it?" She'd admit, she sounded a bit defensive now. She couldn't help it! A mere second ago, she'd assumed the other girl was going to send that spike right through her chest and now she was talking about disarming her?

The girl chewed on her lower lip, shaking her head. This was crazy. She was crazy. Crazy for suggesting it. Shiori herself was crazy for even listening.

But she was her only hope.

She stepped forwards faster, winding up her swing, her heart beating like crazy in her ears, "Fine, take it! Make it worth it!" she yelled, effort making her voice strained as she swung down the pipe at the woman, hoping to dear god whatever her crazy ass plan was would be enough to get them out.

As the metal drew closer to her, Ray could feel it, unconsciously sensing exactly how far away it was from her skin. Even as the pipe was speeding towards her, it was so easy for her to just give a small... tug. Like a part of her body that had separated from her, and was now being brought back into the fold. There was no impact as the metal touched her skin, no trace of resistance. Instead, the pipe liquefied, easily slipping out of the other girl's grasp as it was drawn into Lareina's skin. It was cold, and heavy, and it gave Ray a trace of confidence.

Confidence that this crazy plan of hers wouldn't get them both killed.

"Good," she grunted, even as she 'stumbled back' from the blow that hadn't really hit her. It gave her a couple of seconds to plan, and give a warning. "I'm going to swing at you from the left. Be careful, I'll be sending out a spike when I do. The more metal you can make in response, the better."

'Stabilizing' herself, Lareina jumped forward once more, her weaker left hand coiling backwards in a large telegraph. Then she sent the punch swinging forwards, while the dark grey metal of the pipe began to collect on her fist.

Well, she certainly did take it. The adrenaline, the tears that Shiori had been unable to hold back, the pain in her hands... None of it had prepared her to watch the metal disappear into the other girl's skin, making no impact, gaining no resistance. The pull was so sudden that she'd let go, watching the heavy pipe become part of the other. "... Holy shit." she mumbled softly, trying to keep herself together, nodding hurriedly when the girl gave her directions. "Um, okay. I'll try."

And try she would. What other choice did she have?

The fist came flying at her, now covered in the metal. In the mess of all her thoughts, she'd almost not registered that this exact moment was when she was supposed to dodge. Thankfully she did, sidestepping and stumbling backwards, opening her mouth in response, hoping something would come out. The thoughts raced through her mind. Steel. Steel. Steel. Steel.

Steel.

Bars and flakes of steel erupted from her mouth, making a terrible vomiting sound upon exiting. God, she felt sick to her stomach, and her throat was alight with pain as she pushed them out at a rapid velocity, into the other's arm. She fell backwards onto her butt, having underestimated the force at which the steel would propel her backwards, but she was too dizzy to notice, only closing her mouth when she'd gotten the last of it out of her.

For a second, Lareina thought the girl wasn’t going to dodge her blow. However, at the last second, she and her doe-eyes managed to stumble out of the way. It was a good show, Ray thought, as the force of the swing naturally caused her to stumble a bit. She glanced around covertly as she stabilized herself. The centipede abominations seemed to have settled back down again. She didn’t know if they were fully satisfied with the show, but at the very least it seemed clear that they wouldn’t attack immediately. Now she just had to wait for…

There. She could feel the metal, appearing from nothing within the girl’s throat. And then the small fragments were flying her way, and Lareina could not help the small smile that spread across her face. Every scrap of metal the girl released was unerringly guided towards Ray through the use of her ability, and as it entered her body, she could feel herself sinking almost a couple inches into the soil. It was heavy.

With an unconscious look of anticipation, Ray turned towards the staggering girl. Even with the weight of the metal inside of her pressing down on her body, Ray couldn’t help but long for more. It was an instinctual craving, something like the satisfaction of eating a hearty meal when she’d been starving. But as Lareina watched the weakly staggering girl, she knew, almost instinctively, that was all the metal she was going to get.

She’d make sure it was good enough.

The metal began to emerge on the surface of her skin once more, coating all her exposed skin in a silver coating. Right now the metal was still fluid, but with a thought she’d be able to harden parts of it, protecting herself from unexpected attacks. Lareina thundered towards the other woman, far slower and heavier than she’d been moments before, moving like a freight train across the clearing. As she approached the other girl, she reached out, trying to scoop up her smaller frame into her chest. If she could grab the other girl, she’d be able to cocoon both of them in the metal, offering the girl some form of protection.

The ringing in her ears grew louder. Her eyes couldn't focus, her body feeling heavy as it let gravity take control. The sudden exhaustion was staggering, but she'd had a feeling it would happen, what with the ridiculous amount of metal she'd just spewed out. Everything she had in her was now within the girl barreling towards her and God, did she hope it would be worth it. In her feeble consciousness, Shiori could see her, that determined expression in her face, her skin flooding with silver, hair flying about wildly.

How admirable she was, covered in vomit and sweat, fueled by nothing but the will to live.

Her bloodied hands reached out, grabbing a fistful of the woman's shirt as she was scooped up easily. The girl was tiny in comparison to her, a stick with a pale face and wet cheeks. She couldn't see anything, her consciousness already rapidly fading, despite being jostled around from the running.

"I'm... gonna..." she was having a hard time getting the words out, still clinging to the other for her life in her arms.

“It’s okay,” Lareina responded, like she was comforting one of her little brothers. “I’ve got you.”

Truthfully, over the sound of the roaring crowd and the pounding of her own feet, Ray didn’t really know what the other girl had said. She could simply feel her breath, and the way the girl shook in her arms. Metal from Lareina’s skin crawled gently over the other girl’s body, transforming into something like a steely cradle. It might not be the most comfortable, but it was solid and protective.

“I’ll fucking get is out of here,” Ray panted, feeling the way every breath seemed to fill her mouth. “I swear.”

The centipedes were screaming, but it seemed to be more from excitement than rage. It was clear that they thought Ray ‘swallowing’ the other girl marked the end of the battle. And it did, but not because of her death. It was over because Ray wasn’t going to fight the other anymore.

I have to… Ray didn’t slow down at all after scooping the other up, hurtling towards the edge of the pit. More and more metallic pieces were forming on her body, so many small, familiar remnants of the things she’d fixed in her life. Car springs, gathering around her legs, propelling her farther and faster with every step. Chainsaw chains and blades, but far longer and sharper than any that would have existed back on earth, began to spin along her arms. Ray’s head was pounding, each of the countless little shapes held together by the force of her will.

Stubbornly, Ray bent her head forward, ignoring the way her body seemed to scream in protest. She wondered, if it wasn’t for the metal reinforcing her, if the pressure of her movements might just rip her legs right off, like she’d stuck her limbs out to get hit by a truck.

Lareina reached the edge of the pit, and she jumped upwards. Giant pistons formed at the base of her feet, compressing air and then releasing it almost explosively behind her. Ray was flung upwards, spinning out of control. She barely managed to latch on to the edge of the pit, before the blades of her ‘chainsaws’ bit into the earth. It hurtled her further forward, uncontrollably.

She didn’t have time to check how the centipedes were reacting. She could already imagine acid flying at her, and she hunched protectively over the other woman as she ran, driving the last of the metal in her blood to thicken across her back in hopes that it might offer some meager resistance.

And then she ran. There was no room left in her head for any other thought. All that mattered was running. And running. And running. And…

They were moving so quickly. Shiori knew she was light but the fact that carrying her and running was so effortless. Had she been fully conscious, she would've been more impressed than anything. Unfortunately, she could barely hear anything being said to her, now simply letting the other handle the situation. She'd done what she could. Hopefully she'd either wake up from this nightmare soon, or they'd at least get to safety, away from the bodies and the monsters that wished nothing upon them but misery. One could only hope.

Shiori would've spent more time hoping if she hadn't passed out right then and there, head lolling. It had taken everything out of her to shell out so much in such a short amount of time.

Beyond making sure that she didn’t collide with anything or run off a cliff, Lareina didn’t pay attention to where she was running. Her one and only goal was to get as far away as possible, far enough away that the centipedes would no longer be able to find or follow her. At first, the sound of the chasing monsters drove her on, keeping her from feeling the burning pain that came from her lungs and muscles. When she finally dove into the forest, however, the sounds fell further and further behind her. The tightly clustered trunks of the trees proved an obstruction to the physically larger abominations, and the trunks and branches blocked their acidic spit. After Ray broke line of sight, it was only a matter of getting far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to track her anymore.

And it was the fear of them catching up that drove her on after all the sounds had vanished. Tank Lareina was not particularly subtle about her passage, and branches and bushes snapped with every step she took. She slowed slightly from the all-out sprint she’d adopted before, but she knew full well that if it wasn’t for the support of the mechanical components she’d made around her own body, she would have collapsed long ago. After all, in addition to the weight of the girl on her chest, Ray was also running with the full burden of all the metal that she’d absorbed. It was heavy.

When she was too tired to feel fear anymore, so tired that the idea of getting caught seemed almost worthwhile if it just meant she could stop and take a break for a couple minutes, stubbornness drove her on. Stubbornness without reason or thought behind it. Lareina slowed from a jog to a fast walk, from a walk to a stumble, but it wasn’t until she’d used every scrap of stamina she possessed that Ray finally crumpled to the ground.

As she fell unconscious, the metal that had surrounded her automatically dissolved and flowed back into her skin. Unable to know if there were any dangers in her surroundings, Ray finally slept.

Well, not literally, but just the process of opening her eyes was excruciating. Shiori had lived through pain before, taekwondo and recovering from reassignment surgery had probably been the worst of it all... Perhaps breaking her arm once. But this? The searing pain shooting through her body, filled with that deep heaviness from previous exhaustion? She was quite certain she'd never felt anything like it before. She twitched her extremities, trying to make sure she could still move them, before painfully forcing herself to sit up. The scent of dirt and pine filled her as she stared at the trees surrounding her. The sun could barely make it through the thicket, keeping them cool near the roots.

The girl frowned, raising her hands to look at them. Brown spots, from both dirt and dried blood covered her palms, shards of glass still embedded into her. She imagined there were no tweezers nearby to try and remove the things... Perhaps she could try making some tweezers? She hadn't tried making anything precise as of yet, having only managed to make pipes, bars and shards, but perhaps she could practice... She could only imagine how bad for her it would be to just leave glass in her skin, especially in her hands. She'd most definitely need them here.

And then she looked at her.

The woman beside her looked even worse than she did. Face down in the dirt, covered in scrapes, splayed out as if she just passed out standing up and had taken the hit without waking up. Well, she'd saved them both. Somehow, the plan had worked. Somehow, it had been worth it.

Shiori felt a swell of something in her chest, maybe something like pride. Despite it all, they were alive. Thank god.

To Ray, it only felt like she'd blacked out for a second. There was no sense of sleeping or dreaming, no sense of time passing. Just a blink, and then the shadows had moved, and the air had cooled. And there was something moving near her.

Lareina scrambled, panic seizing her heart. She'd been found. She'd run so far, she was sure she'd escaped. But they'd found her. Every part of her body screamed as she tried to push her way to her feet, the detritus on the forest floor skidding out from under her feet as she scrambled. Rather than standing up, all she managed was to roll herself over.

And then she saw who was making the noise.

The panic left her faster than water flowing out of a broken cup, and Ray couldn't help but laugh at the feeling. She lifted one heavy hand, pressing it against her chest. "Fuck, you scared me," she finally said, before gradually pushing her way up into a sitting position. Every part of her body hurt, and it felt like she was about to fall right back over. She had to brace herself carefully against the ground. "You okay?"

Shiori jumped in her seat on the ground at the sudden burst of activity coming from the girl as soon as she awoke, obviously forgetting that she'd gotten them both away. It was funny, really, considering how little their situation had improved, but she laughed anyway, watching the other switch from darting her eyes around, breathing heavily, to smiling in relief. "You scared me." Shiori snorted, shaking her head, her tone jokingly accusatory, "Rolling around right after you wake up like that. Don't make me cough glass at you again."

She adjusted herself, bringing her knees to her chest. "I'm okay, kinda. Feel like I got the life sucked outta me. Wasn't good, spitting up all that steel." she stated with a shrug, "Are you okay? I blacked out after you picked me up. You look beat up."

It was easy to assume that the centipedes hadn't caught her in time, seeing as they were both somehow still alive, but she definitely looked like she was taken a boot to the face once or twice. Or more. Shiori closed her eyes briefly, trying to search within her, to see if she could conjure up a pair of tweezers, but no dice. Her stomach churned, begging for sustenance, unwilling to give her anything until she provided an offering for pushing so much out of it earlier.

"I'm running on empty. Doesn't look like I can spit much out until I eat something." she muttered, stuffing her hands in her pockets. Her phone was gone: she must've dropped it at some point, but that didn't matter much. All she had with her were a couple of bobby pins and a mini-gel pen. Everything else she'd had had been in her purse, but it hadn't been on her when she'd warped to wherever the fuck she was. Damn. She'd been saving a Ziploc bag of oreos in there.

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